The Underground Railroad

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Transcript of The Underground Railroad

The Underground RailroadU. S. History 1301By: Alicia Gayles What was the Underground railroad? Fugitive slaves arriving at a safe house “station” on the Underground Railroad (Charles T. Webber, 1895) Key Terms:

Stations: Hiding places or safe houses where the fugitives would rest, and eat.

Stockholders: People providing financial resources for these activities

Conductors: Guides responsible for leading fugitives from one station to the next.

Passengers: Runaway slaves or cargo fleeing from the South.

In the 1810-1850, it was a network in the south, of houses and other buildings used to help slaves escape to freedom in the Northern states or Canada.

Underground Railroad Cross-over PointsThe Ohio River, often called the River Jordan by enslaved African-Americans, was the main access point to Ohio.

This 425 mile border had 23 known locations where escaping slaves regularly crossed the river and boarded Ohio's Underground Railroad.

Lake Erie had at least 10 ports where slaves could board a ship that would take them to Canada. What is a slave? A slave at the time was owned by another person. The treatment of slaves was horrible The were ordered to work vigorously in any weather condition.

They were brutually punished. Where did it come from? unpaid

Experienced Racism Spliting of familes Cruelty "Slaves had no knowledge of geography, apart from following the north star led to freedom". Most common estimated slave succeed in reaching north or canada is around 1,000 per year. Conductors:

Harriet Tubman Fredrick Douglass

Abolitionist

Taught himself to read and writeAdvised Abraham Lincoln on employment of African American soldiers

Became any early advocate of giving the right to vote to emancipated slaves Where did they go..with preparation.... A Day in the life of Slavery! Forced labor Uneducated Fugitives would travel 10 to 20 miles usually hidden away in "safe houses, barns, or haylofts in the day time. Starvation shelter Why would the want to leave the south? Freedom Use of Resources:

Traveled by train or boat.

Money was needed to improve the appearance of the runaways because a black man, woman, or child in torn clothing would always attract suspicious eyes. They would travel secretly at night risking the lives in search of freedon and a better life! Made 19 trips and freed 300 slaves to freedom

40,000 Bounty

Served as a union spy during the civil war Cotton is King!

In 1803, Cotton was the world's major crop for slave labor.

Over 2 million slaves from Africa were sold in 1820-1860. (Auctioned off in slave markets.) Slavery in the South:

Limited the growth of the industry in the south

Discouraged immigrants from entering the region

Interfered with technology progress

Guaranteed equality for whites by preventing the growth of class to the unskilled labor

Most slaveholders believed the African Americans were and inferior to whites and were unsuited for life in any other condition other than slavery.

Sevants should obey their master But yet.... Critizicim of the North

Public Education

Newspapers, Literacy journals and other publications

Freedom

Jobs (letters of reccomendations)

Help with settling into comunities It is estimated that at its height between 1810 and 1850, 30,000 to 100,000 people escaped enslavement via the Underground Railroad. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1793

It allowed a slave owner to seize an escaped slave, present the slave before a federal or local judge, and, upon proof of ownership, receive a certificate authorizing the slave to be retaken.

It also established a penalty of 500 dollars for obstructing an owner's efforts to retake a slave, or for rescuing, harboring, or concealing a fugitive slave. The Fugitive law of 1850 "Compromise of 1850"

This was one of the most controversial acts of the 1850 compromise and heightened Northern fears.

It declared that all runaway slaves be brought back to their masters The End!